Pearl Jam earns its fifth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with “Lightning Bolt,” the 10th studio album from the Seattle grunge legends.
With sales of 166,000 in its first week, “Lightning Bolt” is the biggest debut for a rock album since Phillip Phillips’ “The World From the Side of the Moon,” which charted at 169,000 last November. That said, it’s the smallest total among Pearl Jam’s No. 1 debuts, which include: “Backspacer” (2009), “No Code” (1996), “Vitalogy” (1994) and “Vs.” (1993).
Miley Cyrus’ “Bangerz” sales decrease 73% to the No. 2 spot with 72,000. Paul McCartney’s “New” debuts at No. 3 with 67,000 copies sold, and is the first release of all-new material from the Beatle since 2007’s “Memory Almost Full.”
Drake is holding on to the top 10 with “Nothing Was The Same,” which moved one spot down No. 3 to No. 4 with 58,000 sold in its fourth week.
The Avett Brothers debut at No. 5 with “Magpie and the Dandelion.” Their last album “The Carpenter” made it to No. 4 with 98,000 in 2012.
Scotty McCreery, the 2011 winner of “American Idol,” debuts at No. 6 with his second album “See You Tonight” (52,000). His 2011 set “Clear As Day” entered at No. 1 with 197,000.
Lorde”s “Pure Heroine” slips No. 6 to No. 7 in its third week with 48,000.
In a surprise return, Cher’s “Closer to the Truth” takes the No. 8 spot, gaining 50% with 45,000, thanks to a sale tied to her upcoming Dressed to Kill tour. “Closer to the Truth” was released September 20.
Country icon Willie Nelson achieves his third top 10 set ever with this week’s “To All the Girls,” which debuts at No. 9 with 43,000 copies sold. The all-star collaboration album — which includes Carrie Underwood and Dolly Parton — is his highest-charting since 1982.
Indie folk band The Head and the Heart close the list at No. 10 with its second album “Let’s Be Still.” At 42,000 sold, it’s a huge week for the band, whose self-titled debut never sold more than 4,000 in a week.
This past week’s overall album sales are down 2% compared to last week and down 11% compared to the same week last year. Total album sales for the year are down 6% so far.